He stared at the list, biting inside his cheek.
“No use keeping silent,” Shinji said. “You already confessed in front of two officers.”
“Seven more,” Taniguchi finally replied.
“So you were determined to kill eleven people.”
Taniguchi raised his head. “They deserve death. They were bullies. Sick. Twisted. Sadistic. Violent. They’d frequently torment me. Always found new and creative ways to do it. One of them was particularly artistic.”
“Ozawa Fumiko,” Shinji said.
Taniguchi nodded. “She and Yamato were inseparable.”
“Lovers?” Shinji inquired.
“Nah, just a great team.” He paused, his head tilting to the side and his body swinging slowly. “I accidentally revealed I could see spirits. It became the gossip of the entire school. Yamato was a second year and already a notorious bully.”
“He sought you out because of the gossip,” Shinji said.
Taniguchi hesitated before nodding.“He’d jump out of nowhere to scare me. Would cut my schoolbag and books into pieces and mockingly blame the ghosts. Then Ozawa came up with an idea.” He glared at them both, hatred burning in his eyes. “She’d wrap rope around my neck, hang a pet tag to it, then Yamato would drag me around the high school telling me to ‘sniff’ the ghosts like a good little dog. Whenever I fought back, he’d lock me in the toilet and throw cold water over me.”
Teruo’s stomach tied in a knot. That was truly disgusting. The grudge Taniguchi bore them wasn’t surprising.
“The teachers and your parents didn’t intervene?” Teruo asked.
Taniguchi gave a half-shrug, his knee bouncing under the table. “My parents were ashamed of the ‘nonsense’ I spewed. And I never complained to them about Yamato and his gang. Didn’t have the courage to. Some of the teachers tried to stop him, called the police, but he threatened them too, so they pretended not to see anymore.”
“For how long did he bully you?” Shinji asked.
“Until he finished high school.”
“What made you act now, after ten years? Were you invited at that reunion? Did something happen there?”
“I wasn’t invited,” Taniguchi said. “But I went to meet Yamato.”
“Whatever for?” Teruo asked.
“Business.”
Teruo’s eyes narrowed. “Whatbusiness?”
“I had promised him a ghost.” Taniguchi grinned. “I told him I intended to deliver.”
“Uh huh.” Teruo nodded. “His brother?”
Taniguchi’s knees bounced faster. “Yamato had no other family besides his elderly and very ill grandmother and a brother my age. His brother was bullied too, but Yamato didn’t do anything about it. Pretended like his brother didn’t even exist. I don’t know what happened to them after high school, but two months ago, his brother died in a car accident.”
Teruo and Shinji exchanged a glance. That explained why the lady from the funeral home had visited Yamato.
“One evening he appeared at my doorstep,” Taniguchi continued, taking a shaky breath. “Found me on the internet listed as a spiritual medium. Wanted me to call his brother’s soul from beyond. Wanted to apologize to his brother because he wasn’t there for him.” Taniguchi snorted. “Like I gave a shit!” He stared down at the table, his lower lip trembling. “Now he suddenly believed in fucking spirits!” The chains of the handcuffs clinked as Taniguchi yelled, trying to stand up, then falling back onto the chair.
“Did you tell him who you are?” Teruo asked.
“I did and waited for him to remember me. To remember the one he humiliated for seeing ghosts and to whom he came for help seeking a spirit ten years later. He didn’t…” Taniguchi gritted his teeth.
“What did you do during the meeting?” Shinji said. “Tricked him into thinking you found his brother’s ghost?”
“Well, first I told him it takes time to ‘contact’ the other side.” Taniguchi made air-quotes. “Yamato believed me. What an idiot,” he snorted. “Then I approached him in Yoyogi Park, while he was jogging. I lied that his brother was there.”